SPECIAL EDITIONSPECIAL EDITION

CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY ON THE HARBOUR SOLUTIONS

PROJECT is now underway on all 3 fronts. Constructioncontinues in Halifax & Dartmouth. In Herring Cove majorconstruction on the wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) hasbeen underway since spring.In Halifax, the sewage collection system (SCS) is almost

complete. Beginning this fall /winter, work will get underwaymaking final connections of the new and existing SCScomponents (piping, pumping stations, downtown tunnel,combined sewer overflow chambers and related infrastructure)to the Halifax facility. These connections will allow for pre-commissioning (systems testing) of the Halifax WWTF.

At the time of publication, the Halifax WWTF was close tobeing roof-tight and installation of internal treatment systems(mechanical and electrical) is continuing.

The Halifax WWTF is scheduled to go into operation inspring 2007.

In Dartmouth, SCS work is on-going from north Dartmouthto just south of the Woodside ferry terminal. Work willcontinue throughout 2006 and into 2007.

Extensive structural work continues at the DartmouthWWTF along with related mechanical and electrical systems.The Dartmouth WWTF is scheduled to be operational in thesummer/fall of 2007.

In Herring Cove, the gated access driveway has been roughedin and crews continue to excavate the WWTF site. The HerringCove WWTF is scheduled to be operational in the summer/fallof 2008.

The third and final component of the Harbour SolutionsProject is the BioSolids Processing Facility (BPF) located inAerotech Park. The BPF is roof-tight and mechanical &electrical system installation continues. The BioSolidsProcessing Facility is scheduled to be complete when theHalifax wastewater treatment facility is operational in the springof 2007.

For more information on HRM’s environmental initiativessuch as the Harbour Solutions Project, Pollution PreventionProgram, composting & recycling and Pesticide By-Law, checkyour HRM Stewardship Calendar, visit www.halifax.ca andfollow the Naturally Green links, or call 490–4000.

Halifax Harbour . . . construction update

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Harbour Solutions Project

Big Harbour, Bright Future . . . ● Halifax Harbour Solutions Project ● Pollution Prevention ● HRM’s Environmental Stewardship Award

4.5.

1. Dartmouth WWTF - August 20062. Jamieson Street Pumping Station - August 20063. Balmoral Pumping Station (Point Pleasant Park ) - August 2006 4. Herring Cove WWTF - August 20065. BioSolids Processing Facility - August 20066. Halifax WWTF - August 2006

● HRM Call Centre (902) 490–4000 TTY/ TDD Hearing Impaired 490–6645, 1-800-835–6428 ● Email: ‘contactHRM@halifax.ca’ ● www.halifax.ca

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Harbour Solutions Project

Halifax Harbour . . . construction update

September 2006

[2] ● HRM Call Centre (902) 490–4000 TTY/ TDD Hearing Impaired 490–6645, 1-800-835–6428 ● Email: ‘contactHRM@halifax.ca’ ● www.halifax.ca

Illustration: Grant Longard 2006

● HRM Call Centre (902) 490–4000 TTY/ TDD Hearing Impaired 490–6645, 1-800-835–6428 ● Email: ‘contactHRM@halifax.ca’ ● www.halifax.ca

The map (preceding page) shows a variety ofactivities that will make our harbour a fun

and safe place to once again enjoy. So when will the harbour be safe to enjoy these

activities?The ma in

issue affectingthings such asswimming isfaecal coliformbacteria. Thes w i m m i n gguideline limitis 200 bacteria per 100 ml. Levels in the harbourare commonly in the 1000’s at present. Levels arehighest in the inner harbour/narrows andNorthwest Arm, lower in Bedford Basin and theouter harbour. Most of the inner harbour wouldpresently not be safe for swimming at any time.Bedford Basin and the outer harbour is not safefor swimming at times.The Harbour Solutions Project will use

ultraviolet light to disinfect the treated wastewaterbefore it’s released into the harbour. Harbourmodelling shows that faecal coliform levels,except right at the wastewater treatment facility(WWTF) outfalls, will be below the swimmingguideline limit after the 3 new advanced-primaryWWTF’s are operating except right at thewastewater treatment facility outfalls. The Halifaxand Dartmouth facilities will produce the greatestbenefit in the Harbour and Bedford Basin. TheHerring Cove facility will have the greatest effecton the area around Herring Cove.Oceanographers confirm that the harbour water

will become much cleaner as soon as wastewatertreatment is in place. The entire harbour can turnover (harbour water is exchanged with offshorewater) within 2 days under the right conditions ofwind and tide. The Halifax facility is scheduledfor commissioning in spring 2007, Dartmouth insummer /fall 2007, and Herring Cove in summer/fall 2008.Once the Halifax & Dartmouth facilities are

operating, water quality will improve significantlywithin a month, so swimming in Northwest Arm,the Bedford Basinand Black RockBeach should be pos-sible by 2008. Otherdirect and indirectcontact recreationsuch as wind surfing,paddling, sailing and

boating will be much safer as bacteria levels arereduced.Habitat for marine life will

also improve as the harbourwater becomes cleaner.Mussel harvesting is cur-rently closed in all of Hali-fax Harbour due tocontamination. After waste-water treatment, it may bepossible for the Departmentof Fisheries & Oceans to re-open some of the musselharvesting areas around theharbour.Along with low bacteria levels, wastewater

treatment will greatly reduce suspended solids andremove floatable materials. Therefore, harbourwater will be much clearer and aesthetics(appearance and odour) will be greatly improvedalong the shorelines. Locations of presentoutfalls along the Halifax and Dartmouthwaterfronts, and spots such as Chain Rock inPoint Pleasant Park on the Northwest Arm,will no longer discharge into the harbour.Older sewage collection systems such as

those in peninsular Halifax and DowntownDartmouth were built to carry both sanitarysewage and storm water run off (combinedsewers). Some of these combined sewers have nowbeen separated in Halifax and Dartmouth therebyhelping to reduce the volume of flow the newwastewater facilities will have to treat.Even w i th th e

e n v i r o n m e n t a lenhancements theserecently separatedsystems provide,during heavy rainevents when flowvolumes are above 4times the average dry weather flow, some must beoverflowed at points around the harbour. Duringthese overflow events, the effluent will still bescreened before it’s released into the harbour.However, for a couple of days after a heavy or

protracted rain event that exceeds theWWTFs treatment capacity, bacteria levelsmay be higher in the Harbour andNorthwest Arm, so contact should beavoided at those times. Once flow volumesare again below the 4 times dry weather flowlevel, full treatment will again be restored.

Sediments in the harbour around the presentdischarge points are contaminated with a varietyof materials from over 200 years of sewagedischarge. At present, there is no economic ortechnically feasible way to remove and properlydispose of these contaminated sediments. Thebest course of action for now is to leave thecontaminated sediments where they are.Dredging of the harbour is not part of the HSP.Over time, these contaminated sediments willbecome covered by clean sediments which willalso help ensure the contaminated sediments donot move from their present locations.If in future a better method for removal becomes

available, then consideration could be given toeventual removal.HRM has been and is continuing to conduct

water quality monitoring at over 30 sites in theharbour from Herring Cove to Bedford Basin.The data will allow assessment of changes in water

quality over timeas the new treat-ment facilitiesbegin to operate.This will allow usto know if thewater quality ismeeting the objec-

tives which HRM has set for different areas of theharbour.It is very important to remember that

wastewater treatment facilities are designed totreat human waste only. No technology presently

exists that would allow for the treatment ofthe many chemicals, medicines, paints,solvents and other hazardous materials thatpresently enter our harbour, lakes and rivers.The best way you can help our environmentand watershed is to not pour these materialsdown your sink, toilet, storm drain at homeor work.

Are you doing your part?REMEMBER, ONLY RAIN IN THE STORM DRAIN.

For more information about the HarbourSolutions Project visit www.halifax.ca and followthe Naturally Green links to the HarbourSo lut ions Pro jec t . For proper d i sposa linformation follow the same NATURALLY GREEN

links to our Pollution Prevention program.

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THE MAP ON THE ADJACENT PAGE SHOWS INTENDED WATER USES UNDER THE WATER QUALITY OBJECTIVES FOR HALIFAX

HARBOUR. THESE OBJECTIVES WERE SET BY THE HALIFAX HARBOUR TASK FORCE (HHTF) THROUGH AN EXTENSIVE

PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS.

HRM RECENTLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT ITS NEW

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD TO A LOCAL PRINTING COMPANY. MARITIME

PAPER, A LOCAL MANUFACTURER OF PRINTED CORRUGATED PACKAGING, IS

THE FIRST RECIPIENT OF HRM’S NEW ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

AWARD.Mayor Peter Kelly presented the award to Gary Johnson, President,

Maritime Paper Products Limited, for the company’s outstanding efforts inenvironmental stewardship. The award recognizes businesses that have takena leadership role in improving the environment and quality of life in HRM.

“HRM continues to lead the wayin environmental sustainabilityand it’s due to the efforts ofcompanies, like Maritime Paper,that we’re making great progressin protecting and preserving ourenvironment,” said Mayor Kelly.“HRM thanks Maritime Paperfor being proactive and taking aleadership role. Their initiativeshould be an inspiration toothers and is a shining example

of good, positive corporateresponsibility in our Region.”

Maritime Paper Products Limited, located in the Burnside Industrial Park,recently installed a fully self-contained wastewater treatment system as partof a multi-million dollar modernization program. The system, which wasdesigned by a Nova Scotia engineering company, cleans all wastewatercreated at the plant during the manufacturing process , allowing only cleanwater to be released into the HRM sewer system.Originally, the processes at Maritime Paper involved oil-based inks that

were discharged directly to the sanitary sewer, usually with a solvent-basedcleaning fluid. Now, between each order, the printing presses need to berinsed with water only because the company has switched to water-basedinks. This eliminates any possibility of oil-based ink or cleaning solventsgetting into drains and the environment as a result of a spill. Mr. Johnsonexplained that any wastewater from the printing presses is collected inreservoirs and then pumped to the new wastewater treatment system. Theheaviest of the inks settle to the bottom of the tank, while the lighter inks gothrough a chemical process that will cause them to clump together like asolid until they are heavy enough to settle to the bottom as well.

Before the new treatment system was installed, some of the waste pulpwould be discharged with the wastewater and accumulate in the pipes as aresult of corrugated cardboard construction. Now with the new treatmentsystem, the water is filtered through a series of presses. The solids that arefiltered out of the water are then pressed into a cake and sent to themunicipal landfill. The clean water is then, and only then, sent back to thesanitary sewer system, but the eventual goal is to have a completely closed-

loop system. This will allow MaritimePaper to reuse their water for cleanup andsave money in the long run.The commitment that Maritime Paper

has made is key to the success of theHarbour Solutions Project (HSP). Most residents of HRM are well aware

of the construction of the new sewagecollection system, 3 advanced-primarywastewater treatment facilities andbiosolids processing facility that make upthe HSP. We have waited a long time for

this project to get underway. These new facilities will treat wastewater fromour homes and places of business and provide a great environmentalenhancement to our harbour and quality of life in HRM. To help ensure weall receive the maximum benefit from the HSP, it’s important that we eachdo our part for the environment by ensuring we all use proper disposalmethods in our places of business, and at home. The efforts of HRM’sPollution Prevention team and the team at Maritime Paper resulted in asignificant win for our environment and essentially our health. Maritime Paper is an environmental innovator and should be seen as an

example of stewardship for us all. We want to encourage local businesses tocontact the Pollution Prevention office to find out about proper disposalequipment and methods. HRM’s Pollution Prevention team will work withbusinesses to protect our natural aquatic resources. It is their job to regularlyinspect, monitor, educate and enforce the provisions of By-Law W-101,which regulates the quality and quantity of wastewater from all industrial,commercial and institutional locations that may be discharged to themunicipal storm/sanitary sewer systems. By working together, we can achievea healthy, sustainable, vibrant HRM and see a future where we can enjoy ourbeautiful natural resource.If you would like more information about the Pollution Prevention

Program or a copy of By-Law W-101, please visit us at www.halifax.ca or call490–4000.

Gary Johnson (centre), accepts HRM’s new Environmental StewardshipAward on behalf of Maritime Paper Products Ltd from Councillor Jim Smith (left) & Mayor Peter Kelly (right)

SPECIAL EDITION What do you think?

Please share with us any thoughts or comments that you may have about this SpecialEdition of the Naturally Green Newsletter. Hopefully, you enjoyed it and found itinformative and easy to read.

What did you like most about it?What features would you like to see included in future issues?

Please send your comments. The editor’s contact information is located in the rightcolumn of this section.Do you have a question about something you’ve read in this newsletter? Please refer to the contact information located in the last paragraph of each article.Layout & Design: B. Gellard, HRM Corporate Communications

Do you wish to give feedback or have a question about the newsletter itself? Contact: James Campbell,P.O. Box 1749, Halifax, NS, Canada, B3J 3A5Telephone: (902) 490–4604Fax: (902) 490–4938 or Email: campbej@halifax.ca

Naturally Green & Naturally Green Special Edition are Municipal newslettersreporting on environmental news and initiatives within the Halifax Region. Thegoal of the newsletters is to raise public awareness and provide a wide variety ofuseful information on environmental issues.Naturally Green is printed on 100% recyclable material made from some post-consumer fibres, using vegetable-based inks.HRM © 2006[4]

Pollution PreventionPollution Prevention Our Harbour Our Rivers Our Lakes Our Community Our Environment Our Responsibility

Maritime Paper: Friend of the Environment

Don MacKenzie, Chief Engineer (left) Maritime PaperLtd. worked with HRM Pollution Prevention

Coordinator John Sibbald, achieving outstanding results.

HRM Environmental Stewardship Award